From the Voces Oral History Center:
Selena Quintanilla-Perez was born on April 16, 1971 in Lake Jackson, Texas. Along with her two older siblings, she formed a band and played at their family’s restaurant and other small venues.
While she sang Spanish-language songs, Selena couldn’t speak or read Spanish in those early years. Instead, she learned the songs phonetically.
In 1981, an oil bust forced the family to close their restaurant and move to Corpus Christi. Around this time, the family group, “Selena y Los Dinos,” became the family’s sole support under the management of Selena’s father, Abraham Quintanilla.
Selena Y Los Dinos toured across South Texas. One of their big breaks was appearing on The Johnny Canales Show in Corpus, which showcased rising and established Tejano music acts.
At 15, Selena won the Tejano Music Award for female vocalist of the year. It would be the first of many in her career.
A couple of years later EMI Records signed her – their first artist in a new Latin music division. In an extra interview for the “Selena” movie DVD, José Behar, an EMI executive, talked about what he saw in the teenager.
“I came to the realization that the world wanted to see Selena and not Los Dinos,” he said in the interview. “No disrespect to Los Dinos, but the world, internationally, they wanted Selena.”
The following year, Selena’s “Baila Esta Cumbia” skyrocketed on the charts, particularly in Mexico. Her father, Abraham, was also interviewed for the Selena movie.
“I don’t think that Selena ever knew how big she was getting,” he said in the interview. “In fact, everywhere that we went to play like we’re waiting for show time and we’re sitting in the bus and she’s worried whether people are going to come. And I kept telling her, ‘it’s packed inside.’”
In 1994, Selena’s “Live” won a grammy for best Mexican-American Album of the year. Many of the songs were written by Selena’s older brother, A.B. Quintanilla. Selena told a Univisión program, Tejano USA, about the thrill of being nominated.
“When they first told us that we were nominated we all freaked out. We couldn’t believe it,” she said in the interview. “The first thing came to mind was ‘I have to take a camera so I can take pictures with all these stars.’ It didn’t hit me ’til later – ‘what if we win?’”
In March 1995 Selena was murdered in Corpus Christi by the president of her fan club.
Her bilingual English-Spanish album “Dreaming of You” was released July 1995 and became the first Tejano album to reach number 1 on Billboard charts. In 1997, a movie based on her life was released, with Jennifer Lopez playing Selena.
Nearly 30 years later, Selena Quintanilla remains popular. Her music is still played and her likeness, often with a rose, may be seen on T-shirts and other memorabilia. In 2021, Selena was awarded the Recording Academy’s Lifetime Achievement Award.
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